• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, June 12, 2008

The mixed martial arts league that the fledgling MyNetworkTV hoped would serve as anchor programming may be close to folding. The publicly traded International Fight League, which saw a 65% revenue drop in the first quarter, said it has canceled its next live event, in light of its "current financial condition."

The event was scheduled for Aug. 15 at the New Jersey Meadowlands. The IFL, whose stock was trading at 2 cents a share Wednesday (down from a 52-week high of $1.14), said it is exploring its options, although bankruptcy protection is a possibility.

In 2007, as MyNetworkTV struggled during its debut season, the network launched "IFL Battleground," hoping to build ratings and increase ad dollars from marketers looking to reach young men. The IFL series marked the first time that the booming mixed martial arts--toplined by the UFC--was on network TV.

Last season, however, MyNetworkTV discontinued IFL programming. That served to drop IFL's television rights fees in the first quarter of 2008 to $39,000, down from $210,000 in the same period in 2007.

Overall, first-quarter revenues dropped 65% to $282,000. Still, ad dollars were up 133% due to a bump in sponsorships, and its net loss decreased substantially from $7 million a year ago to $2.3 million this year.

In January 2008, the IFL reached a deal in which HDNet would televise three of its events live--and another agreement two months later called for Fox Sports Net to air them in repurposed fashion over nine one-hour episodes.

The company was founded in 2005.